First salvo in the war on con men

ANTHONY Taylor’s decision to show Victor Moses a second yellow card was so grandly acclaimed, his mistake that allowed Arsenal to take the lead was pretty much glossed over. That, as much as anything else, should tell professional footballers how strongly fans loathe diving. Moses’ dismissal by Taylor (above) should be a watershed moment, even putting the debate over video assistance on the backburner for a little while. Referees generally KNOW when a player is trying to con them inside the penalty area. Having the conviction of believing your instinct to the extent where you send someone off in an FA Cup Final is a different matter. For lovers of fair play, Taylor’s action will go down as one of the great moments at the new Wembley. He had not even had a brilliant match. Far from it. Never mind the confusion over the offside, the Alexis Sanchez hand-ball that set up that slightly bizarre first goal was obvious. But a couple of errors were emphatically atoned for when he dismissed Moses. Again, if you wanted to know the extent of how much simulation – con-artistry is a better description – is hated, Moses was vilified on social media and by TV and radio pundits. But perhaps he was unlucky to run and dive into a ref with serious bottle. Too often refs do not have the backbone to punish offenders, particularly in highprofile matches between high-profile clubs. Hopefully, Anthony Taylor might have just changed that.